Character Relationship Map: Head Office

Characters

• Jack Issel (played by Judge Reinhold) — protagonist

  Jack Issel is a newly graduated business-school trainee whose rise through I.N.C. exposes the corruption of corporate power. Initially unsure and often incompetent, he rejects the company’s dishonest...

• Pete Helmes (played by Eddie Albert) — supporting

  Pete Helmes is I.N.C.’s ruthless chairman and chief executive officer. He promotes Jack Issel to obtain influential support for moving the Allenville textile plant abroad, then tries to secure Jack’s...

• Bob Nixon (played by Ron Frazier) — supporting

  Bob Nixon is I.N.C.’s chief operating officer and one of Jack Issel’s senior mentors. Along with Scott Dantley, he demonstrates how corporate insiders can use cheating and blackmail to advance their c...

• General Sepulveda (played by John Kapelos) — minor

  General Sepulveda is the dictator of San Marcos, whose government I.N.C. wants to support for business purposes. The company’s bribery plan is tied to securing cooperation from his dictatorship, makin...

• Max Landsberger (played by Richard Masur) — supporting

  Max Landsberger is I.N.C.’s personnel officer and an early adviser to Jack Issel. He tells Jack that money and power take priority over people in corporate life, embodying the company’s cynical values...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Max Landsberger → Bob Nixon (Professional Management Colleague) — They occupy separate senior management roles within the same corporation.

  Max is I.N.C.'s personnel officer and Bob is its chief operating officer; both participate in the corporate system instructing Jack.

• Pete Helmes → General Sepulveda (Professional Business Negotiation) — Pete seeks favorable business conditions through dealings linked to General Sepulveda's government.

  Pete's plan involves using a two-million-dollar bribe to win the San Marcos dictatorship's support for I.N.C. business.

• Bob Nixon → Jack Issel (Professional Senior Mentor) — Bob instructs Jack in the darker methods of corporate advancement.

  Bob Nixon is one of Jack's two mentors and shows him how to cheat and blackmail his way upward.

• Pete Helmes → Max Landsberger (Power Corporate Superior) — Max operates within the corporate structure controlled by Pete.

  Max works as I.N.C.'s personnel officer while Pete is the company's chairman and CEO.

• Jack Issel → Pete Helmes (Power Manipulative Sponsor) — Pete uses Jack's career advancement to pursue I.N.C.'s political and business objectives.

  Pete Helmes promotes Jack so he can gain Senator Jack Issel Sr.'s support for closing the Allenville textile plant.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Jack Issel → General Sepulveda (Conflict Bribery Counterpart) — Jack becomes involved in, and later exposes, a scheme intended to secure San Marcos's cooperation.

  Jack is expected to deliver two million dollars at a San Marcos reception connected to support for General Sepulveda's dictatorship.

• Pete Helmes → Bob Nixon (Alliance Corporate Collaborator) — They represent the senior management culture that shapes Jack's early experience.

  Bob Nixon and Pete Helmes are both presented as senior I.N.C. executives who teach Jack how corporate power is used.

• Jack Issel → Max Landsberger (Alliance Traveling Associate) — Max accompanies Jack during a major corporate assignment.

  Jack travels upstate with Max to hold a press conference about the Allenville plant closure.

Story Analysis

A reluctant corporate climber exposes corruption and unexpectedly takes control of the system he challenged.

Plot Progression

1. The Corporate Ladder — Jack joins I.N.C. and receives guidance from senior executives who present corruption as a normal path to advancement. His rapid promotion leads him toward the Allenville assignment.
2. Truth In Allenville — Jack and Max face a furious protest over the textile plant closure. Jack rejects the fabricated corporate message and publicly tells reporters that I.N.C. is acting for self-interest.
3. The San Marcos Scheme — Pete exploits Jack's newfound public reputation and sends him to a San Marcos reception involving a two-million-dollar bribe. Jack discovers that the assignment serves a larger corporate plan.
4. Exposure And Takeover — Jack steals the bribe money, escapes security, and exposes I.N.C.'s plans to the press. The Allenville plant is saved, Pete resigns, and Jack becomes the new chairman.